Do you have scars?
by g-na-1358
Summary: Eren's exhausted at the beginning of the new semester. Levi isn't willing to give up his date. Compromises must be made.


**A/N:** You'd think with my schedule, this semester would be a breeze. But apparently it's terribly exhausting for some reason and I can't find the energy to write anything but about how exhausted I am. Hopefully, it'll get better soon OTL

Also, hope the texting at the beginning isn't too confusing. If it is, tell me, and I'll put Hanji's and Levi's names there for clarity ^.^

(6th part of the One Angel series, starting with You will always be my, but as always, can be read independently.)

* * *

There were only a few minutes of Eren's last lecture of the day left and since Levi was planning take him out on a date after the hectic week, Levi headed for the parking lot to wait for his boyfriend. He settled on the hood of Eren's car, laying his bag next to him, and pulled out his phone just as it vibrated with an incoming text. Levi clicked his tongue, swiping at the screen to read the message from Hanji.

hows life with new roommate?

Levi rolled his eyes and went to reply but apparently, Hanji wasn't done as the device vibrated again. And again.

i bet you dont even miss me :(  
judging by how you never talk to me anymore :'(((  
and by how dutifully you go wait for him as soon as you get out early for once ;);););););)

Levi blinked at the barrage of texts, frowning at the last one in particular. His eyes rose up to glower towards one of the windows on the second floor of the science building, which was oh-so-conveniently adjacent to the campus' parking lot. And of course, as expected, there Hanji was, hanging from the window of her shared office, the hand holding her phone laxly waving at him as she grinned stupidly, dressed in her dirty lab coat and with protective glasses perched on her head, making her hair stick out in all directions.

Levi's frown deepened before glaring back at his phone to fire a reply.

If you drop your goddamn phone, I'm not lending you money for a new one. What are you even doing in the office dressed like that; shouldn't you be in the lab or some shit?  
And yes, I don't miss having to drag you to the shower so you actually wash.  
And stop spying on people.

The distinct, if muffled by the distance, sound of her laughter carried over to his ears as she read each text and Levi, despite his better judgement, felt the corners of his moth twitch in amusement. It had only been a week since she moved out so Eren could move in in her place, but he had missed her. She _was_ his best friend, as astonishing as that was to everyone. Levi himself especially.

He jumped as the vibrations started again, jolting him from his reverie.

dwdw im not erwin ;)

Levi smirked at the reminder of how Erwin, graceful, confident Ewin, dropped and broke his phones on a regular basis. It became a running joke in their friend group; they even got him an old Nokia 3310 for his birthday one year. To say Erwin wasn't exactly amused would be understating "the displeasure he felt over such a treatment from his closest friends." And to say said friends were stricken by shame afterwards would be a blatant lie. They laughed about it - and at Erwin's face every time they did - even now, several years later.

im going back down in a few. Just giving the great gods of chemistry the time to work their magic :-*  
meanie :(((  
im not spying you just happened to walk into my field of vision :P

I'll remind you of that once you drop it.  
Right. Just don't burn down the building. And I'm not mean, just feeling sympathetic towards Moblit.  
Tell that to the freshman from last week.

Levi's lips stretched wider and wider as he typed, looking up with each message to see Hanji's expressions. From his distance, it wasn't as clear as he'd like, but still he could make out the exaggerated frown on her face. Suddenly, her head shot up to send a glare at him, sticking out her tongue in the process, only succeeding in making Levi smirk in victory, before she started typing furiously again.

i swear you forget to shut off the burner ONE TIME... :(  
ill let you know that moblit hasnt had a single complaint since i moved in -_-  
their own fault. they shouldn't be making out in the lot :P

You left some sodium right next to it, if Armin is to believe. And he is.  
That's because he has the spine of a sine function. And you haven't started stinking the place up yet.

hey at least i hadnt dropped it into the sink? :D :D :D  
excuse you mr clean freak? :(((  
math nerd!  
ammonia man!

Levi couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping him. He went to type reply before Hanji could come up with more ridiculous insults just as the first students entering the parking lot caught his eye.

If there's anyone smelling of rotten eggs, that you'd be you, shitty four eyes.  
Anyway, gotta go. Eren will be here soon.

i was thinking more along the lines of chemical burns and destroying your mucous membrane o.O but disgusting smell works too i guess? :D :D  
k. say hi to my replacement for me :'( :D

Levi slowly looked up at her with a straight face, making sure to roll his eyes extra hard so she'd be able to see it. (He doubted she could, but he was sure she got the message anyway. At least her laughter said so.)

He watched, unimpressed, as Hanji abruptly stopped shaking with amusement and instead started fumbling to save her phone from the unfortunate fate Levi foretold it, when his ears perked up at the sound of Eren's voice. It was faint, he couldn't make out the words, only the light tone it carried, but he could pick it up anyway. And it filled him with equal parts warmth and dread. How scary was it that he could tell his voice apart from the maybe twenty, thirty others in the open space of the parking lot, from a distance in which all the noise just blended into one giant pain in the ass? Very scary.

Levi shook his head to chase the thoughts away. It shouldn't be scary. It shouldn't be but it was. And Levi was big, bad, scary man, who (accidentally) left children crying and lesser adults cowering in his wake. He shouldn't be letting himself be turned into a trembling teenager experiencing his first love. Especially after literal _years_ he'd been with the guy.

His hand twitched with the urge to slap himself and Levi had to stop himself from following up on it. Instead, he took a deep breath and ran his eyes over the small crowd to locate his boyfriend, which he succeeded at fast, the boy being taller than most. He was smiling and Levi's own lips stretched a little as well at the sight. Fucking ray of sunshine that smile was. He was pretty sure if Hanji were next to him, she'd be making fun of his 'love-struck puppy eyes' as she liked to call it. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised to find a text saying something about that later. Yet, in that moment, Levi couldn't even bring himself to care.

Next to Eren was walking a small, reasonably cute girl, who was looking up at him with almost equally adoring expression as Levi was, blinking at him prettily and leaning too close to be considered friendly.

Noticing this for the first time while looking for the reason for Eren's amusement, Levi felt torn between pride and the need to stake claim. Staying true to his nature, however, he stayed put, only watching carefully with a neutral expression while imagining what he would do if he were to do it. Pushing Eren against the car and flipping the girl and everyone else watching off being the most reasonable of his fantasies.

Levi watched calmly as the two came closer and closer, the girl lightly touching Eren's arm. Levi's eyes narrowed, glaring at her. As if sensing his menacing stare, she turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting Levi's darkened ones, and suddenly she stopped in her tracks, as if burned. At the same time, Levi realized he knew the girl. She was one of his own students in the elective course he'd started teaching this semester as a part of his doctorate. 'Well,' he thought, 'this will be interesting.'

Eren, noticing his companion wasn't next to him, stopped as well, questioning, "What's wrong?"

She looked at him blankly, before opening her mouth and immediately, Levi was glad they were already within earshot – if he strained his ears. "Eren, did you... do something?"

Eren blinked, a confused expression adorning his face and Levi had to bite his bottom lip not to laugh.

Seeing Eren was not comprehending, she gestured carefully in Levi's general direction. Eren turned to look and Levi was graced with being able to watch his expression change with surprise and then melt into a soft, happy smile before a chuckle escaped him.

"Oh, that's Levi. You know, the guy I said I just moved in with?" He shook his head and started walking again, nodding for her to follow.

She did a few hurried steps to catch up, lowering her voice significantly, obviously, trying to prevent Levi from hearing her. "Oh. I.. He teaches one of my electives; he's scary, I thought... I don't know..."

Now Eren laughed fully, smiling at Levi as he replied, "He _is_ scary, isn't he?"

Levi scowled at him as Eren winked in response. Levi felt a sudden urge to throw something at his boyfriend. Unfortunately, the only things at hand were either his phone or his books, neither of which he was willing to throw in fear of hurting either the thing or Eren. Or both.

"Yeah." The girl (Levi couldn't remember what her name was, couldn't remember what the name of a single person he thought was) said in defeat. "Is he really your roommate? Isn't he older than us?"

Levi almost rolled his eyes as Eren smiled. They were pretty much standing in front of him now and still talking as he wasn't there. "I'm actually the same age as him. We used to be classmates. Also, not roommate," he added with amusement as he leaned in to kiss Levi on the lips.

Levi took a great pleasure in giving the girl a challenging look as he returned the kiss gladly, even as he shoved Eren off immediately after. She looked crestfallen, her face turning bright red. Eren didn't notice, still blissfully oblivious to her flirting. He only continued looking at Levi, questioning, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Finished early; thought I'd wait for you."

"You were just being lazy and thought I could give you ride," Eren said in a fake, hurt tone.

Levi smirked, teasing back, "Of course. Why else would I be sitting on your dirty ass car for the most dreadful ten minutes of my life?"

Eren scoffed. "Hey, I had the car washed just yesterday."

Levi reached over to tug Eren closer with a cheeky glint to his eyes. "Only because you knew I'd kick your ass if I saw it filthy."

Eren looked like he was going to protest but their conversation got interrupted by someone awkwardly clearing their throat. They simultaneously looked back to realize they had completely forgotten they weren't alone.

Eren's face turned pink while Levi only raised an eyebrow as the girl shuffled uncomfortably.

"Uhm, right," Eren mumbled, scratching his head sheepishly. "Mina, this is Levi. Levi, Mina. Shit, you already knew that. Right. Sorry."

Ah, so her name was Mina. Levi was sure this time he'd remember it for maybe 10 seconds longer.

Eren cleared his throat, shaking the awkward off of himself before he turned back at Levi. "Anyway, I promised Mina a ride. Do you mind if we drop her off?"

Levi glanced at Mina, who now looked positively horrified. "No, it's okay!" she squeaked hurriedly, shaking her head. "Your... boyfriend..." she still looked like she didn't really believe it. Levi wasn't sure whether that was because of the gay thing or the teacher thing but he felt like that didn't really matter. He was immensely enjoying making her uncomfortable either way. " _Levi_ is here and I don't want to intrude."

Eren frowned. "No, I promised. It's really okay, it's not like you live that far."

"But-"

Levi rolled his eyes, saying in a tone that refused arguments, "Get inside, brat."

Eren looked at Mina who was left gaping and shrugged, "You heard the nice man." Levi slapped his hip and Eren laughed, finally fishing out his keys to unlock his car. But Levi frowned slightly at the sound of his giggle. It didn't sound right. He couldn't put his finger on it; it just didn't sound so... carefree as it usually did. Strained. He tried to shake the feeling off but before Eren left his side to walk to the driver's side of the car, he briefly squeezed his knee, almost desperately, and Levi's stomach sank.

Eren, as if nothing happened, turned towards Mina, telling her to sit wherever. She still hesitated, glancing carefully at Levi, but after the man glared at her she finally moved, probably scared of what he'd do to her if she didn't comply, and she all but jumped inside the car, settling in the seat behind the driver.

Levi shot Eren one last look, meeting his gaze briefly as Eren looked at him questioningly, silently asking _what was wrong._ ' _You_ tell me,' Levi thought. Knew better than to question him now, however, so he took a deep breath and slid off the hood, walking to the passenger's side. "By the way, Hanji says hi," he mentioned conversationally instead.

Eren paused in opening his door as his eyebrows shot up. "You saw her? She wasn't in the lab for once? Every time I go see her, she's not in the office."

"I wouldn't say I saw her but..." Levi trailed off, nodding towards the upper floors of the neighboring building before sliding into the passenger seat.

Eren looked up to where he knew Hanji's group's window was, squinting at the curtains someone was obviously using to hide behind. He shook his head, finally getting in himself. "Doesn't she realize we can totally see her?" Eren wondered out loud, cocking his head to the side and Levi chuckled.

"Honestly, sometimes I really can't tell what she does and doesn't realize."

Eren just hummed and turned the key in the ignition, rolling out of the parking spot.

The drive to Mina's place was silent save for her timid instructions and Eren's affirmatives. Levi took the time to observe the other man, but really, it scared him how much he didn't even have to try to see it. Eren's driving was erratic, like he was struggling to stay focused. A far cry from his normal calm and relaxed style. He was going too fast before he caught himself speeding, his grip on the steering wheel was too much, making him take the turns sharper than needed be. He had trouble changing gears once or twice, not pushing the stick shift far enough. It was obvious the people in the car with him were the only thing keeping the cries of frustration in. Every movement he made sent a sharp pain through Levi's gut.

He didn't know what to do. He couldn't say anything with the girl still there. So he did the only thing he could in that situation, even if he hated it. He waited. Levi closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, starting to gnaw on his lower lip. He could only hope Eren wouldn't kill them in this state before they got to be alone.

Mina's "That's my house; you can drop me off here" could not have come sooner in Levi's opinion. He turned back to look at the girl as Eren pulled over but really, it was just so he could watch Eren. As soon as the car was in park, Eren closed his eyes for a moment, and to Levi it looked like he was praying. Maybe he was.

When he opened his eyes again, it was to give Mina a winning smile as she thanked them for the ride. Levi wanted to cringe at how fake it looked but Mina apparently didn't notice, judging by how she smiled in return. Then again, Eren was an excellent actor and even Levi needed to be slapped in the face with reality before he started seeing the cracks more clearly.

As soon as goodbyes were said and Mina turned away, Levi carefully put a comforting hand on Eren's thigh. "Do you want me to drive?"

He could feel Eren tense up and the sound of the engine rang loudly in silence of the car. Levi could see the inner battle raging inside the other as neither of them moved. Finally, Eren gulped before opening his mouth to utter a single word, so quietly Levi almost didn't hear. "Please."

Levi squeezed his thigh in reassurance. "Of course." When Eren didn't make any move to get out of the car, Levi continued softly. "We can switch now?"

At that Eren resolutely shook his head and immediately pulled away from the drive way of Mina's house. Levi frowned in confusion and Eren gulped again before elaborating, "Not here. Mina would see."

Levi blinked. He didn't see Eren's point. So what if she sees? There's a million explanations why they might want to switch. Wisely, Levi didn't voice his opinion. He had long since learned not to question Eren's many irrational fears and now mostly let his boyfriend to lead the way, going with what he was comfortable with and just continued throwing assurances and compliments at him. Nothing good ever came from trying to reason with him over what people might or might not think if he, for example, went alone to eat somewhere. Only screams and tears and accusations of 'you don't understand what it's like to live like this!' Four attempts were more than enough for Levi to understand he should never oppose or question Eren and his wild fantasies.

Eren turned the corner and after confirming there was nobody walking down the street, he stopped again and jerkily got out. Levi followed, circling the car at a slower pace than Eren was. As they passed each other, he tried to grab Eren's hand briefly but as soon as he made contact, Eren's whole boy pulled away from him. Levi wasn't even surprised. It was just sad resignation weighing down on him.

As soon as he was sitting again in the passenger seat Eren kicked off his shoes and pulled them up against his chest. Levi shot him a concerned look before putting the car in gear again, taking off. He only spoke up once they were back on the main street. "Did something happen? Or are you just tired?" he asked carefully, choosing his words to sound as not accusing as he could go while still getting to the point.

He heard Eren sigh sharply, as if he was about to snap back at him, but then he paused and suddenly Levi watched the tension leave his body as Eren sagged in his seat, his head dropping against his knees. It took him a while to gather enough strength to mumble an answer, "Just tired. Exhausted. I don't know why, it's not like they want too much from us yet."

Levi shook his head, stopping at a red light. "It's normal. School just started, it will take a while to get back into the rhythm of things," he said, looking at Eren with a sure look in his eyes.

Eren sighed closing his eyes. "I know. But it seems like it's never been this bad before."

"Well," Levi started, not sure if his next words were a good idea just as the light turned green again. "You didn't go to therapy every week before. That's fucking exhausting even without school."

Eren made a face but didn't comment, instead looking out of the window. Levi took it as a small victory and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

They were silent for a bit before Eren spoke up, changing the subject. "Where are we going anyway?"

Levi shrugged as he answered, "I actually wanted to take you out on a date."

Eren looked back at him, a hesitant look in his eyes, biting on his lower lip. Obviously he wasn't in the mood for anything but sitting back and ignoring the world. "Where?" he asked instead of outright saying no and Levi was glad for it. He smiled, blindly reaching out to touch Eren in reassurance.

"I was planning dinner, but seeing you now, I'm thinking more a dumb movie and a drive. What do you say?"

From the corner of his eye he could see the warm smile that spread on Eren's lips and in turn, warmth spread through Levi's chest at the knowledge he'd made that smile appear there.

"I fucking love you," Eren said with certainty, not a hint of hesitation in either his voice or his expression. "Do we have a blanket, and can we stop by Starbucks?"

"Love you, too, Sunshine." Levi said, in return, smiling. Then he cocked his head to the side in thought. "Not sure about the blanket but if there isn't one in the trunk, it's not like we can't buy one. And when have I ever said no to Starbucks?"

"Well, last winter you threatened to burn the mall down if we went inside," Eren reminded with a raised eyebrow.

Levi rolled his eyes in response. "That was because that would be the fourth time that day and there's only so much gingerbread I can take before I'm sick of it."

"Nobody said you had to get a gingerbread latte again."

"You do _not_ go into a Starbucks in the middle of winter and not get a gingerbread latte. Besides, even if I didn't, you and Hanji would get it and then the smell would be all around me anyway."

Eren laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to Levi's cheek. "Thank you."

Levi smiled, happy Eren was feeling better. "You're welcome, brat."

* * *

 **A/N:** *Disclaimer: Based on real life events, real life fantasies, and real life urban legends.*

No seriously, the sodium thing was based on a story a teacher told us when I was still doing physics. Not sure if it was true or not but long story short, do not throw sodium into a toilet unless you want to put the whole chemistry building out of comission for a while.


End file.
